blog

Creative Review

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:44:14 +0000

I somehow forgot to mention that last month Creative Review used some of my images to illustrate an article on the wondrous Frontroom and The District in Cambridge. Including my first ever back cover shot! Click here to see a picture of Alex holding said publication whilst wearing a furry hat.

You can now read the article online.

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/november/we-are-the-district

Monotonix

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:14:54 +0000

Think

Lightning Bolt x Les Savy Fav + Tel Aviv

http://www.readplatform.com/monotonix-the-others/

The Singer Not The Song

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:09:15 +0000

Cat Stevens (not that one), the former photo editor of Plan B magazine is having an exhibition at Rough Trade East. I love her photographs, they have a considered approach but still retain subtle movement and energy. I feel that the pictures she makes are truthful to her subject and to their nature, something that is frequently lost in contemporary music portraiture.

I love this shot of Scout Niblett

The opening is on Friday and Alexander Tucker will also be playing.

unfocussed eyes

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:41:11 +0100

A few weeks back I took a trip up to The Frontroom in Cambridge for a few days. I was there to help out and document my good friend Matt Walkerdine with his installation, Unfocussed Eyes.

Much cutting and pasting ensued, Matt worked out there were 800 photocopies used in total and finished the installation off by colouring in a giant ‘primary shape’ that took fours hours alone.

Here are some pictures.

I have also added some pictures to the scrapbook page. See if you can see yourself.

Where the Wild Things Are

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:50:00 +0100

Not only am I super excited about seeing what the collective geniuses that are Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers have done with the book but my friend Alex Curtis has also illustrated the cover of Little White Lies magazine. She has skills.

The trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOkQ4dYVaM

It comes out in the UK at beginning of December. Oh yes.

review

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:04:13 +0100

thanks to my friend Pete Willis for the review of Non Fiction, a zine I made with my friends Seb and Matt.

http://www.lasthours.org.uk/reviews/non-fiction/

the others

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:08:00 +0100

Here are some links to my friends who have some new work.

Emily Grundon- Emily is studying on the prestigious Photographic Documentary course in Newport. She recently uploaded her new website. I especially love her Strand series.

Oliver Udy - I graduated with Oli from Plymouth University and he has gone to become a teacher and complete his Masters at Falmouth university. He is Cornish born and bread and his passion for his home comes across in his work. Check out his series on roadside Stalls.

sheets of tears

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:01:50 +0100

I have posted up some new tear sheets including my shot of Your Twenties in last weeks and NME and this shot of Gold Panda in the current issue of Loud and Quiet.

I covered Offset festival for Loud and Quiet last weekend, fun times were had by all. Look for out for the next issue available in a couple of weeks which will include pictures of Noddzz, Cold Pumas and a crazy live shot of Monotonix that I am pretty chuffed with.

Next week I am off to photograph the devastatingly talented Matthew Walkerdine as he installs his new exhibition at the Frontroom gallery in Cambridge. The opening is on Friday, so come and have a gander.

randumbness

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:05:00 +0100

I have added a scrapbook page on my website. I pretty much always have a camera on me and I like to capture the everyday things that make up my life. I thought that it was about time I shared some of the pictures.

Also I am going to start selling prints of my work so please get in touch if you see a picture that you like. owen@owenrichards.co.uk

We English

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:41:31 +0100

Over the last few months I have been helping photographer Simon Roberts with his new project We English.

Some images were featured in last weekends Guardian which you can see on the website.

The book is coming out in September and there will be an exhibition and talk at the Photographers’ Gallery on September 30th. As Simon used a 5x4 camera, the details in the pictures are amazing, I highly recommend seeing the prints in person.

Its not a cult

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:40:49 +0100

My friend Tim has started a small collective of like minded people.

The Shashin Collective

The Beautiful Losers documentary was amazing! I put it up there with Instrument and The Power of Salad on the inspiring DIY films list. It comes out on DVD at the end of the month, I really encourage people to see it.

Here is a little Q + A with the director/creator Aaron Rose.

Beautiful Losers

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0100

Where has the time gone?

Tonight I am off to see the Beautiful Losers documentary at ICA. I am super excited as when I saw the original exhibition in San Francisco back in 2004 it blew me away. The exhibition was centred around the art that sprung out of skateboarding and punk and included legends like Glen E Friedman and Raymond Pettibon. There was also a focus on the younger generation of creatives, many who had evolved out of the infamous Alleged Gallery in New York. These included a whose who list of contemporary ‘losers’ including Ed Templeton, Harmony Korine, Mark Gonzales, Shepard Fairey and my one of my favourites Mike Mills.

I think the reason why the exhibition had such a impact on me is that I was aware of the older generation of punk/skate artists particularly Glen E Friedman and Cynthia Connolly but not so much the newer generation and this exhibition opened my eyes to a whole area of art. It was a starting point for me and influenced not just my aethetic but also my ideas in life.

I first came across Mike Mills when I saw a brilliant little short film called The Architecture of Reassurance late one night on Channel 4, I loved it so much that I reccorded the repeat a few days later. It is a modern day Alice in Wonderland story set in the generic suburbs of Huntington Beach, California. At the time I was really interested in the idea of suburbia and why and how people existed within it. Skip forward a couple of months and a friend and I are in San Francisco, I had known about the Beautiful Losers exhibition because of Glen E Friedmans participation but knew little about any of the other people involved. We ventured over to the YBCA and didn’t really know what to expect. It was truly inspiring the whole set up was like nothing I had ever seen before, there was even a skate bowl built into the gallery! At somepoint I was sitting down watching a showreel of films and The Architecture of Reassurance started up, I was confused and amazed, it was a beautiful coincidence! This started my fascination with this area of art and the Alleged Gallery community. Its really interesting to see what some of these artists have gone onto do, everything from writing cult films to creating an iconic image for a future president.

If you are interested I highly recommend these two books, the catalogue of the exhibiton and Young, Sleek, And Full of Hell which is all about the Alleged Gallery

Meanwhile…..

I have been busy photographing people and places. I am going to upload some new stuff shortly, I have updated my flickr with some random bits and bobs.

heroes

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:40:00 +0100

down and left.

Beautiful Losers, the film is to be released on DVD in August. The Beautiful Losers exhibiton had a big influence on me, but thats another blog entry!

migration

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:49:04 +0100

I have had a bit of edit and moved servers. Hopefully the new site will run a little bit smoother and be a bit more reliable.

A new series from a self published photo zine will be going up very soon. Unfortunately I have sold out of the printed versions but I am working on another one for an exhibition at the end of June. More news to follow.

The xx are going to use my shots (as seen in Loud and Quiet) for promo for their new album in the next few months, so thats pretty exciting, I am looking forward to seeing my shots all over town!

I have also started working on a project with those good eggs up at The District in Cambridge. Its a really interesting project and I am excited to be able to work with them on it.

Onwards and Upwards.

Plan B RIP

Thu, 21 May 2009 17:33:00 +0100

I was sad to hear that the next issue of Plan B will be the last.

I have been photographing for the magazine since 2004, when I used to “cover” the south-west. I would drive up to Bristol, Cardiff and even Swindon (a 4 hour round trip) to photograph the best unknown bands. It was unpaid but I did it for the love of music and photography and because I believed in what Plan B was trying to do. It had picked up from where Careless Talk Costs Lives had left off, covering the music and culture that fell between the gaps of the music press. It would always get that little buzz as I turned the pages to see my photograph and I still do.

They have provided me with some great opportunities and always make my pictures look great. Some highlights inlcude a trip to Birmingham, Alabama to photograph Dan Sartain and the chance to have my heart almost stopped by Daniel Johnston at the Brixton Windmill.

Thanking you Sarah Bowles for giving me a chance and to everyone associated with Plan B, you good eggs.

bittersweet week

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:42:52 +0100

Well this week has been an up and down affair.

I will start with the bad news. On Wednesday I became another victim of the monster that is the credit crunch. I was made redundant from my part time job of two and half years. A pretty crushing blow but I am determined to use the situation as a turning point/springboard (insert generic positive attitude euphanism) and find a new challenge.

If anyone knows of a job going that might be of interest to me please let me know, I am up for new challenges and who knows maybe a new place.

On the positive side my first cover feature was published. I am very pleased with it and you can see it in the new edition of Loud and Quiet, available at lots of places in London.

Look for the pink!

controversial homes

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:33:55 +0100

My good friend Oliver Udy is a great photographer and a teacher in Cornwall. I had a chance to catch up with him last week while enjoying the fresh air and sunshine of Falmouth.

Oli has been working on a series called Suspected Second Homes, an on going series of polaroids of suspected second homes in his native Cornwall. These images are taken purely on an “instant aesthetic judgment” and no information relating to the location of the house is displayed or mentioned.

Baring this in mind, Oliver had an exhibition of these polaroids on King Harry’s Ferry (yes on a ferry!) taken down due to complaints about the nature of images. The police were worried about burglars and the locals worried about the impact on tourism. Both totally overlooked the valid issue behind the project which is about how second homes are destroying the communities of Cornwall and pushing up prices for locals.

In the age of Google Street View , I find this frustrating and close minded towards someone who is trying to make a point about an issue that affects those very people that are complaining. I hope this example of censorship will not set a precedence for the future, although I fear that it will.

You can read an more in depth article here.

21 films

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:24:00 +0100

I am back from a great trip down to Exeter via Falmouth. I shot 21 films so with a bit of luck I might get some good pictures.

Stuart from Loud and Quiet kindly sent me a tearsheet from the latest issue, so all you people outside of London can see what the XX look like.

Whilst away I saw some great bands including a young fellow by the name of Will Rene and his band the Contraires. They were amazing, somewhere between Morrissey and Dan Sartain with added screams.

And thanks to those good eggs at the district for the kind words on their blog

http://www.thedistrict.co.uk/

tweeks

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:29:00 +0100

Made some small aesethic changes on the website.

Recently I visited Cambridge to photograph ‘Day Jot’, an installation at The District by illustrator Alex Curtis. I think the best way to describe it like walking into nursery on acid!

Meanwhile back to reality, I have some photographs in this months Loud and Quiet and Plan B, with more to come next month including some shots of the Yes Way festival and The XX. The new issue of +1 is now available with Reg from the Bill on the cover and some of my shots on page 25.

Next week I am heading down to Exeter to start work on a photographic study that I am excited about.

Fingers crossed for the weather (and toes).

I am glad your are alive!

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:50:40 +0000

Hello. Yes I am still here.

I have been quite busy lately. Shoots for Loud and Quiet, Plan B and Twickenham stadium amongst others.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been down to Brighton to enjoy the seaside and to help out Simon Roberts whilst gaining some knowledge from him. I got to see a rough edit of his new book and exhibition - We English. Really inspiring stuff, keep an eye out for this exhibitoin at the Photographers’ Gallery in the Autumn.

Plus 1 magazine which I am a big fan of will have an article on warehouse parties featuring writing by Posy Dixon accompanied by some of my shots coming out soon. It was a fun project to do as I had a bit more freedom and about a subject close to me; DIY ethos.

As for some new images here is one from a shoot with Victoria and Jacob